My apologies. I realize that this piece paints a very dark picture, but as I see it, this is a world photograph. A very real and animal world that needs an aware population.

Things were much simpler when survival and some sense of fulfillment arose from simplistic successes. Some species became expert defenders and food source specialists. Other species found successful survival through will, size, strength, and might. Humans ended up somewhere in the middle, but it is strongly theorized that our ingenuity, intelligence, cunning, and complex social dynamic developed through necessary measures linked to our survival just as any other apex species.

Today, the humans stand at the height of success in surviving the throes of reaching contentment in our attainment of necessity. Many of us enjoy the comforts of security, but not all of us. Unfortunately, even the apex predators of the world face danger, and naturally, mortality. In the face of such odds, ideals of peace are not much more than curling whisps found in the dissipating vapors of hope.

Typically, apex hierarchies do not display cannibalistic behavior, but all threaten other members of their species. For example, male lions challenge other males for the rights to their pride. At times, this fight ends in death. If the challenging lion defeats the pride male, he will kill all of the cubs in the pride and prime the females to bear his offspring. This sounds gruesome, and, it is, but it is not much different than a human war.

The primary difference here is that the opposing forces are equal in many respects, and this is one on one combat. Human tribal conflicts may have once been as simple as a lion taking a pride, but today, the tools of war have taken far different shape.

Illusion, Misinformation, Social Inequality, and ultimately, Enslavementare much more effective tools for conquering a territory with the aim of utilizing all of its resources. Instead of mindless lines of people running into each other with swords and shields, modern warfare is largely psychological. We have evolved – to “kill” one another. How does this invisible war work?

I fully understand that the above sentence is both confusing and a mouthful. However, we can demystify with basic concepts taught in critical thinking.

Think on this – Misinformation:

First, let’s dissect the word misinformation: In simple terms, it denotes obscured information. Modern technology offers up a myriad of media, sources of information, and can mast disassociated authority as a beacon of truth.

Disassociated authority is a form of authority that cannot be substantially accounted for and is the source of misinformation. It may be difficult, but think about the influence of your parents when you were a child. How long did it take you to question what they taught you? Have you ever questioned an authority? Yes, we’re going back in time to Easter Bunnies and the benevolent, husky Santa Claus. Take it a step further and ask how people eventually debunked this mythology. Did they set up tests, traps, or hide silently in the dark with cameras? Were they socially shamed/pressured out of their beliefs? Or – were they simply told by the same people that spun such tales that the stories weren’t true?
We gather information constantly. How much of that information is discovered? How much of what we learn about the world around us is told to us? What constitutes as evidence? What is logical? How are we to decide what to believe?

More importantly, why does it all matter?

Simply stated – Information dictates action.

Example Scenario: If you believe (key word) that you’re heading South on Interstate 5 when your destination is South, you will not take action to travel North. However, do you accurately know that you’re headed South? Before, you were simply following signs, but now that you’ve demanded more evidence, you pull out a compass. The needle indicates you’re facing North. Now, faced with opposing information, what is the proper response?

It is time to examine the authorities consulted. Interstate signs or compass? Troubleshooting is most efficient when the simplest hypothesis is tested first. Rather than investigating the inaccuracy of all the interstate signs, it would be much simpler to stop at the next gas station to find other compasses to compare yours to, speak with locals, or seek out landmarks that may indicate direction. If the compass is found to be broken – the problem is rapidly resolved without incident. What if the compass were right, though? Would you be more likely to question the Earth’s electromagnetic field or all state and government signs along the interstate?

An area of misinformation has been discovered, and the North versus South conflict demonstrated above explains to a certain degree, how information dictates action. More importantly, this explores the disassociation connected with authority. Unfortunately, most people never learn to critically think on this level, or are too afraid of the conflict it may involve. This makes one highly susceptible to authority figures and/or subservience. This is not to say that authorities are wrong. Making appeals to authority is the only way to gather information on things we cannot experience for ourselves. Despite any amount of conviction, personal experience is very weak, in itself. In effect, our own senses can be deceitful for many reasons.

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“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
~Bruce Lee

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